Cheshire

Solar panel grants in Cheshire.

Solar panel grants in Cheshire come down to one council grant for lower-income households in less efficient homes, a council group-buying scheme open to anyone, and two national reliefs that apply to every home.

Here is who each one is for, as the councils set them out.

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Council grant
Until 31 March 2028
VAT
0% until 31 March 2027
Checked
October 2026
Fourteen black panels on a tiled roof in low evening sun, a chimney beside them
Fourteen panels on a tiled roof in the evening sun

The council grant

Warm Homes: Local Grant (Cheshire and Warrington).

  • Who runs itCheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, and Warrington councils, with Cheshire East Council managing the scheme, funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, until 31 March 2028.
  • What it pays forInsulation, heat pumps, solar PV for electricity generation, high heat retention storage heaters where a heat pump is not suitable, and heating controls. Neither council page mentions battery storage among the measures.
  • The homeAn EPC rated D, E, F or G (the council can help arrange one if there is none), and the work should lift the rating by at least two bands.
  • The householdYou qualify through an income-related benefit such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit Guarantee, OR total household income before tax of no more than £36,000, OR no more than £20,000 after housing costs (mortgage or rent, and Council Tax); disability benefits are ignored.
  • Who it is forA homeowner living in the property as the main residence, or a private tenant; a private landlord contributes at least 50% after the first property. Homeowners are typically not expected to pay anything unless building repairs are needed first.

Sources: Warrington Borough Council: Warm Homes: Local Grant · Cheshire West and Chester: Warm Homes Grant. Neither page gives a grant amount; it depends on the home and the work.

Open to anyone

Solar Together Cheshire and Warrington.

Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East and Warrington councils run Solar Together with iChoosr: free, no-obligation registration, approved installers bidding in a reverse auction, then a personal recommendation and a technical survey. Panels come with optional battery storage and EV charge points, and homes with panels can buy a battery on its own. It runs in rounds and now trades as Switch Together.

Source: Cheshire West and Chester: Solar Together launches in Cheshire. Going direct instead means you choose the installer and talk the design through with them; our Cheshire page sets the two side by side.

For every home

The national reliefs that apply in Cheshire.

  • 0% VAT until 31 March 2027Residential solar panels, batteries and diverters fitted by an installer who both supplies and installs them are zero-rated for VAT from 1 May 2023 until 31 March 2027, when the rate reverts to 5%. HMRC VAT Notice 708/6 (energy-saving materials).
  • The Smart Export Guarantee (a payment, not a grant)The Smart Export Guarantee obliges larger licensed suppliers to pay you for surplus electricity you export, and requires an MCS-certified installation. What suppliers pay is compared on our solar panel cost page and in the Smart Export Guarantee guide.

Cheshire · grants

Solar grants in Cheshire: what people ask.

If yours isn’t here, give us a ring and ask, or see every question.

Yes, for some households. The councils’ Warm Homes grant can pay for solar PV alongside insulation and heat pumps, in homes rated D to G on their EPC where the household passes an income or benefits test, and it is funded until 31 March 2028.

Battery storage is not among the measures the two council pages list. Solar Together, the councils’ group-buying scheme, does offer it, including a battery on its own for homes that already have panels.

No. It pays for the electricity you send back, at a rate each supplier sets, and the installation has to be MCS-certified for you to claim it.

Not until 1 April 2027 for most homes: until 31 March 2027 the rate is 0% when one firm supplies and fits the panels or battery, and 5% after that.

Then the Warm Homes grant does not apply, because it is only for homes rated D to G. Solar Together, the VAT relief and the Smart Export Guarantee do not depend on the EPC rating.

Where the council grant applies

Our towns where the council grant applies.

Planning, council by council: Cheshire West and Chester Council · Cheshire East Council · Warrington Borough Council.

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